Carey’s boys' soccer team ended the regular season with a 5-1 defeat to Manhasset, snapping a four-match unbeaten streak.
But Seahawks coach Matt Princi thinks the loss is exactly what his team needed as they prepare for the Nassau Class AA playoffs.
“It was good to have a game of that intensity before the playoffs,” Princi said. “That team was at a different speed and pace than everybody else. We’re kind of using that as a wake-up call for what we’re going to see going forward. We’re going to try to build off that.”
Carey enters the postseason as the No. 8 seed and will host ninth-seeded Malverne-East Rockaway in a first-round game. The winner meets defending state champion Garden City in the quarterfinals.
Carey and Malverne-East Rockaway split a pair of regular-season games, with the Rockin’ Mules winning 6-2 in the last matchup on Sept. 27.
That defeat was the first game without senior left back Christian Toto, Carey’s captain, who suffered a season-ending injury. Princi said there was an adjustment period to handle that loss.
“With him, it’s not just what he does with the ball or defensively, it’s also his leadership that we miss,” he said.
Whether it’s the loss of a leader on the team or defeats on the field, Princi has been impressed with the resolve of his team, crediting the camaraderie and chemistry that emerged at the start of the season. Those characteristics are especially important in high-pressure playoff games.
“They’re a tight-knit group. In playoff games, that can kind of sway things sometimes,” Princi said. “You go down and you start to feel the pressure, and you have somebody out there who can lift you up. That’s definitely a huge bonus for us.”
The Seahawks proved down that down the stretch, bouncing back from that 6-2 defeat to the Rockin’ Mules to tie South Side 0-0 before three consecutive wins over Bethpage, Elmont, and Clarke.
Offensively, junior winger Evan Cardoso has lifted the Seahawks with 14 goals and four assists, including both goals in a 2-1 win over Bethpage and the lone tally in that 5-1 defeat to Manhasset to end the regular season. He’s joined on attack by sophomores Mason Melecio, a tank of a forward, and speedy winger Evan Joseph, who scored in the 6-0 victory over Elmont.
Junior Matteo Campoli, who had a goal and an assist in the 2-1 win over Clarke, has been solid in the middle of the field, while junior Christian Conti has played well as a defensive midfielder in front of the center back tandem of Michael Stratakis, one of just three seniors in the starting XI, and junior Michael Lombardi.
“When they’re locked in, we’re very tough to beat,” Princi said of his center backs.
Sophomore goalkeeper Jonathan DeCastro has also been much improved, which is critical heading into the playoffs.
A year removed from a 4-9-1 season, Carey went 8-4-2 in the regular season and return the bulk of this year’s squad that will get their first taste of playoff soccer.
